Freezing temperatures outside and your boiler has suddenly stopped working? It could be a frozen condense pipe. If your condense pipe is run external it’s a good chance this has happened. It’s not usually difficult to fix this issue, it’s pretty straight forward. The easiest way to clear the frozen blockage is to boil a kettle of water and pour the hot water over the external part of the condense pipe. It’s best to start at the end of the condense pipe and work your way backward, that way you’ll be clearing the pipework so that the condensate can flow away.
This is easy to do when the boiler is located on the ground floor with very little external condensate pipework. Sometimes the boiler is located on the first floor or higher. This can become a dangerous task when using a ladder in icy conditions. It is always recommended to seek professional help.
If you’re unsure about doing this yourself or after trying this method you’re still having problems then you should contact a Gas Engineer so they can perform further checks on the boiler.
What can I do to prevent a frozen condense pipe?
Prevention is the best cure. There are several upgrades that can be done to help prevent a frozen condense pipe.
The first and best method is to have the condense pipe run internal, but usually, if it has been run externally this isn’t possible with a natural fall. It is possible to do this with a condense pump that can pump the condensate upwards and then into a gravity waste pipe higher up.
The second method is to upgrade the size of the pipe. Condense boilers when first released into the wild only required a 21.5mm pipe internally and externally. But as time went by boiler manufactures quickly realized 21.5mm externally was prone to freezing. So the manufacturers upgraded the external size to 32mm to help combat condense pipe freezing. So if you still have the 21.5mm pipe externally it is advisable to upgrade to 32mm.
The third method is to insulate the pipework with pipe lagging or an electronic heat source that wraps around the pipework, which only activates when the outside temperature drops below a certain temperature.
If you’re having issues with your condense pipe or boiler then contact us on 01889597377, 07971693134 or visit our contact page. We are based in Rugeley but operate in the surrounding areas; Lichfield, Stafford, Abbotts Bromley, Uttoxeter, Cannock, Brocton and more.